The Ashes 2013: Essex expose England’s failings as batsmen toil

It was meant to be a morale-boosting workout before the first Ashes Test in 10
days’ time but England’s top-order were left feeling anything but chipper
after falling to Essex bowlers who had taken just eight first-class wickets
between them before this match.

Struggle: England skipper Alastair Cook is short on runs going into the AshesPhoto: GETTY IMAGES

Tom Craddock, Sajid Mahmood and Tymal Mills, the men who shared the first seven wickets to fall, were only playing because Essex were resting some of their frontline players.

Under the usual rules of engagement England, blooding their new opener Joe Root and rehabilitating Kevin Pietersen, this time from injury, should have made hay. Instead, none of the top seven passed fifty, a failing that will hardly have Australia's bowlers quaking with fear.

Their best offering was the 49 made by Kevin Pietersen, his first innings for England since mid-March when he returned home from New Zealand with a bruised knee. Later, Tim Bresnan and Graeme Swann spared England’s blushes with a 116-run partnership for the eighth wicket, both men passing fifty as the visitors finished on 328 for seven.

“The total was a fair one but we’d have liked some of our top-order to spend more time at the crease and capitalise on some of the starts they got, and so would they” said Graham Gooch, England’s batting coach.

“There’s no secret to batting in Test cricket and if you get starts you have to put big totals on the board,” he added. “That’s their job and while it wasn’t a disaster today, the Essex bowlers didn’t pull up any trees with their performance and most of our batsmen would have wanted more time in the middle.” One of those to get in without making Essex pay too badly was Pietersen, who made an unbeaten 177 for Surrey against Yorkshire recently.

He was in similarly dominant mood here until he was caught and bowled by Craddock, the first of three wickets for the 23-year old wrist-spinner from Yorkshire.

Given he had almost fallen the same way in Craddock’s previous over, it was a casual way to go but it is possible Pietersen had been lured into complacency by the dismal nature of the bowling to that point. Coming in at 73-2, he hit three of the first four balls he faced to the boundary - two of them rank full tosses the other a long-hop. Indeed, the full bunger featured quite a lot in Essex’s repertoire, enough for someone untutored in the game to consider it a deliberate strategy.

With England batting first by prearrangement (Bopara won the toss declared it a good pitch to put some runs on and then fielded), all eyes were on Root as Alastair Cook’s new opening partner. An early edge off David Masters was kept down by soft hands while his busy demeanour, always looking for singles, kept the scoreboard ticking and the strike rotating.

Unlike Cook, who was caught behind off Mills cutting at one too close to his body, Root looked untroubled until Mills, who had exceeded 90mph, thudded one into the knee roll of his left pad. In obvious pain, he sought treatment from England’s physio but opted to bat on though not for long. In the next over, he was caught by Ben Foakes for 41 nibbling at an outswinger from Mahmood.

While fans of Nick Compton might not have thought Root’s innings especially persuasive, Andy Flower more or less confirmed in a recent interview that the young Yorkshireman will start the Ashes as an opener.

Far more concerning for Flower is Cook’s form which has been awry for a while, especially his vulnerability to left-arm seamers of which Australia could field two, Mitchell Starc and James Faulkner.

Then there is Jonny Bairstow, a man who carries the drinks so often for England that he thinks a leg glide is a cocktail. Woefully short of cricket, he had worked his way to 23 before being bowled by Mahmood padding up to one that nipped back off the seam. It was one of the better balls Mahmood bowled but if anything Bairstow’s judgment was at fault.

Compton is not really a middle-order batsman, but his further exposure to Australia for Worcestershire this week, at the behest of the selectors, suggests he is first reserve across all positions. If he gets big runs at New Road and Bairstow fails again here, there might be some prevaricating before the team for the opening Test is announced on Saturday.

Before yesterday, Craddock had played just two Championship games for Essex this summer and failed to take a wicket. This was a bonanza then as first Bell, to a brilliant bit of fielding by Jaik Mickleburgh who anticipated the batsman’s paddle sweep at short leg, and then Matt Prior both fell to him.

It was, Craddock later agreed, “Surreal, and the best day of his career,” a claim none of his team mates or any of the opposition could have made.